NEW INSIGHTS ON SATURN'S FORMATION FROM ITS NITROGEN ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 2014 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/796/2/L28· OSTI ID:22364884

Mousis, Olivier; Lunine, Jonathan I. ^[1]; Fletcher, Leigh N. ^[2]; Mandt, Kathleen E. ^[3]; Ali-Dib, Mohamad ^[4]; Gautier, Daniel ^[5]; Atreya, Sushil ^[6]

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1. Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)
2. Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom)
3. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78228 (United States)
4. Université de Franche-Comté, Institut UTINAM, CNRS/INSU, UMR 6213, Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Besançon (France)
5. LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC, Univ. Paris-Diderot, F-92195 Meudon Cedex (France)
6. Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143 (United States)

The recent derivation of a lower limit for the {sup 14}N/{sup 15}N ratio in Saturn's ammonia, which is found to be consistent with the Jovian value, prompted us to revise models of Saturn's formation using as constraints the supersolar abundances of heavy elements measured in its atmosphere. Here we find that it is possible to account for both Saturn's chemical and isotopic compositions if one assumes the formation of its building blocks at ∼45 K in the protosolar nebula, provided that the O abundance was ∼2.6 times protosolar in its feeding zone. To do so, we used a statistical thermodynamic model to investigate the composition of the clathrate phase that formed during the cooling of the protosolar nebula and from which the building blocks of Saturn were agglomerated. We find that Saturn's O/H is at least ∼34.9 times protosolar and that the corresponding mass of heavy elements (∼43.1 M {sub ⊕}) is within the range predicted by semi-convective interior models.

• OSTI ID: 22364884
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 796; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
AMMONIA
ASTROPHYSICS
CLATHRATES
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
ISOTOPE RATIO
LIMITING VALUES
NITROGEN 14
NITROGEN 15
PROTOPLANETS
PROTOSTARS
SATELLITE ATMOSPHERES
SATELLITES
SATURN PLANET